Preview/Prediction

If the good Lord picked one weather day to represent spring training for every baseball team spread out over Florida and Arizona, he would have chosen today.

With clear blue skies and temperatures hovering around 80 degrees, the Washington Nationals picked up the pace on the fourth day of workouts for pitchers and catchers.

Yesterday’s big story was no doubt Stephen Strasburg's pain free throwing session.

For those of you who think the AL East is just too competitive for the lowly Toronto Blue Jays to do any damage, think again. General manager Alex Anthopoulos has been quietly putting together a nice team that will continue to be good for years to come.

Offense

Justin Upton is coming off a year in which he took a considerable step backwards. Through his first 3 seasons in the big leagues, he had consistently improved his statistics as his playing time increased:

Another day, another division to discuss.  Today we will take a look at the AL Central, a division that always has a great race leading up to the decided champion. Last year, the Twins were able to beat out the White Sox for the only playoff position awarded to an AL Central team. However, the Twins were subsequently bounced by the Yankees in the ALDS with little resistance. They are looking for an improvement from last year's result, but they have to watch out for the other teams in the division that will be breathing down their neck.

As most know, the Tampa Bay Rays' success in 2010 was due in part to the incredible bullpen that they had assembled, with league saves-leader Rafael Soriano, extravagant setup man Joaquin Benoit and plenty of ate-up innings by Grant Balfour and Dan Wheeler.

Unless you've been living under a rock hibernating this past winter, you know that none of those names remain in the current Rays' bullpen.

In the rotation, they have (blank) and who else?

Where is Sizemore playing?

How long will Hafner be on the DL this season?

All of these questions have been asked in one form or another this offseason. That’s not what makes them interesting.

What makes them interesting is that they were actual questions raised on veteranpresence.com in the spring of 2007. Tribe fans everywhere remember that 2007 was the last year the Indians were relevant, and that was coming off a 78-84 campaign.

It's official—the 2011 Major League Baseball season is right around the corner. Don't believe me? Just ask the groundhog. Or maybe the fact that the next edition of Major League Baseball video games are primed for release will convince you. No?  Ok, the Super Bowl is over and so is another season of the National Football League. Pitchers and catchers have reported for Spring Training. Yes, the 2011 season is swiftly approaching.

The 2010 Tampa Bay Rays’ opening day first baseman, left-fielder, shortstop, designated hitter and catcher are all gone. One of the three starters who made at least 30 starts has departed, and six of the eight most-used relievers were not retained.

Some of these losses are lamentable. Carl Crawford was the face of the franchise and the first home-grown Rays star. Matt Garza was an exciting young pitcher with boatloads of talent and a no hitter to his credit.

This is a very close debate between to guys who should have big years. The question that will be answered is, who do I take first? Let’s establish that Street’s and Putz’s ADPs are very close to each other. Putz is going around the 145th pick or the 13th round. Street is going around the 151st pick or the 13th round. 

The MLB futures for the 2011 American League MVP are especially intriguing with some big names finding new teams and figuring to contend for the coveted award. Let’s handicap the top 10.

1. Miguel Cabrera

Sportsbook odds: +400